Indiana Jones 4

I cannot remember ever having been excited about an upcoming film. When I heard about Indiana Jones 4 that all changed. Slated for release next summer and to begin filming immediately, the movie will continue the franchise. I love the way these movies have combined history, mythology, suspense, action/stunts, and the power of legend.

Here are some of the facts:

What is the story?
The only thing that has been revealed about the Indiana Jones 4 story so far is that it will be set around the 1950s and that the villains most likely won't be Nazis.

I suppose this means that there could be a cold war angle. Perhaps the competition will come from Soviets.

What will be the MacGuffin this time?
A MacGuffin is a plot device that motivates the characters and advances the story, but has little other relevance to the story. Like the 'Ark of the Covenant' for Raiders or the 'Holy Grail' for the Last Crusade.

The only info we have on the MacGuffin for Indy 4 is what George Lucas told Empire in August 2006:
"I discovered a MacGuffin. I told the guys about it and they were a little dubious about it, but it's the best one we've ever found. ... Unfortunately, it was a little too 'connected' for the others. They were afraid of what the critics would think. They said, 'Can't we do it with a different MacGuffin? Can't we do this?' and I said 'No.' So we pottered around with that for a couple of years. And then Harrison really wanted to do it and Steve said, 'Okay.' I said, 'We'll have to go back to that original MacGuffin and take out the offending parts of it and we'll still use that area of the supernatural to deal with it.'"

I imagine this means that the central archaeological quest has some Judeo-Christian tie. I presume anything connected to the ancient hebrew priestly system, such as the urim/thummim, would be too similar to the ark of the covenant portrayed in The Raiders of the Lost Ark. Perhaps it has something to do with Islam, potentially the stone of ascension. I'll consider some other possibilities. Anyone have thoughts?

When will Indiana Jones 4 be released?
The film maintains the Memorial Day weekend release strategy of the last two Indiana Jones movies as Paramount Pictures officially announced that the fourth film's 'worldwide' release date is Thursday, May 22, 2008.

Brilliant. Mark it now.